The girl probably hadn't expected Scott to be looking at the door before she opened it, so their eyes met the moment it swung open.
She pressed her lips together a little awkwardly under his gaze, steadied herself against the door, and straightened up.
"Harry Potter and Ron Weasley?"
Scott spoke calmly, his voice slightly lowered.
He hadn't fully gone through puberty yet, and to avoid his voice cracking, he had developed the habit of speaking more slowly and keeping his tone steady.
"I'm sorry, I haven't seen those two gentlemen, Miss Granger," he said, shaking his head politely at Hermione Granger.
Of course, he knew perfectly well that the two boys were most likely flying a car through the sky.
"Oh, thank you."
Hermione thanked him quickly, then glanced at the book in his hand—Voyages with Vampires.
On the cover, Professor Lockhart's photo wore a rather silly, "charming" smile.
Scott was slightly surprised that she hadn't left yet. "May I help you with anything else, Miss Granger?" he asked.
The young witch raised her eyebrows and spoke rapidly, "Were you just reading Voyages with Vampires? I need to apologise for interrupting your reading, but I don't know your name yet. Oh—right—do you know me?"
Scott let out a quiet chuckle. "Of course I know you, Miss Granger—the one who helped protect the Philosopher's Stone with Mr Potter last year, and earned fifty points for Gryffindor at the Leaving Feast. By the way, Scott Trollope, Ravenclaw, about to enter fourth year."
"Oh, thank you, Mr Trollope. And I'm really sorry for interrupting…"
Hermione continued speaking at a rapid pace.
Scott was about to say goodbye, but she wasn't finished—
"…I've already read that book—it's very good. I mean, Professor Lockhart's books are all wonderful. This year's Defence Against the Dark Arts class should be very exciting, don't you think? Well then, see you at Hogwarts."
After saying all that in one breath, she stepped out, closed the door, and hurried away.
What an energetic girl.
Scott shook his head and fell into thought.
He went over the events of this school year in his mind. One of Voldemort's seven Horcruxes—a diary—would control Ginny Weasley, the youngest daughter of the Weasley family, leading her to open Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets and release the Basilisk to attack Muggle-born students.
This situation was extremely dangerous for him, a Muggle-born wizard. He couldn't be sure he wouldn't run into the Basilisk in a corridor one day.
It seemed he couldn't just drift through this year like the previous three.
During the summer holidays, he had carefully considered many plans and finally settled on one that was both safe and practical.
Taking risks was not an option. He wanted to deal with the danger early while keeping himself safe.
Now, he reviewed the plan once more, then relaxed. He took out his pocket watch and checked the time.
12:43 PM—more than an hour since the train had left.
He reached into his bag to take out his lunch.
But just as he opened it, he paused and looked at the compartment door.
Five seconds later, the door slid open again.
"So you're here, Scott."
A tall, well-built boy leaned in, then walked inside and sat opposite him.
"Hey, Roger."
Scott pulled out a paper bag with a burger and asked, slightly surprised, "Why are you here? I thought you'd be with your current girlfriend… that Hufflepuff—Miss Mill?"
Roger Davies, a fellow Ravenclaw and Scott's dormmate.
"Mill?" Roger grinned. "We broke up."
Scott paused briefly—mainly because he had been trying to remember who Miss Mill was—then asked casually, "When did that happen?"
"A few days after the final exams last year," Roger replied with a laugh.
Scott simply glanced at him without commenting.
Roger's long list of relationships had gained another entry, but Scott had no interest in discussing it.
"Aren't you curious why we broke up?" Roger asked.
He reached over and grabbed a burger from Scott's bag.
"Believe me, Roger," Scott said, handing him a bottle of cola, "if you had a roommate like yourself, you'd stop being curious after three years. Even Eddie has probably lost interest in sharing your 'relationship updates' by now."
Eddie Carmichael, their younger dormmate, was usually enthusiastic about spreading gossip.
Roger shrugged as he took a bite. "From the way you say it, I sound like a terrible person."
Scott gave him a slightly exaggerated smile. "You're still a good roommate. Your relationships don't affect me. After all, those girls aren't my friends—and I'm certainly not dating you."
"Fair enough."
Roger accepted it as a compliment. He opened the cola and raised the bottle.
"To good roommates."
"To good roommates."
Scott tapped his unopened bottle against Roger's.
Roger didn't mind. He looked at Scott with a mischievous smile and winked. "The girl who just left—Miss Know-It-All, Potter's friend from Gryffindor, right? How do you know her?"
Scott gave him a tired look, swallowed his food, and replied, "We just met. She was asking about Potter and Weasley. They might have missed the train. Didn't she ask you?"
"Maybe I missed her while I was in the bathroom."
Roger laughed. "Trouble on the first day of school? Sounds just like the 'Saviour.'"
Scott thought to himself—it's only the beginning. The "Saviour" always has to face difficulties to defeat Voldemort and save the world, doesn't he?
At that moment, Roger noticed the book beside Scott.
"You actually read this kind of thing?" he asked curiously.
"'This kind of thing'?" Scott raised an eyebrow. "This is the textbook for this year's Defence Against the Dark Arts class."